Report about Jubilee Sunday Celebration - Rev. Chris Laing

St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, on the grounds of the Oregon Episcopal School, held a full-blown Jubilee Sunday. Display table, use of many of the worship resources, a chance for me to preach, and a forum discussion following. There was also use of bulletin inserts from the Episcopal Church detailing aspects of the Millennium Development Goals.

This was the third year, I think, of raising the subject of Jubilee with the congregation. This year there was a strong response to bring the congregation membership issue to the next vestry (council) meeting. An announcement in the Oregonian led to a couple of new visitors. And a new
member stepped forward to be our parish contact person.

I am thankful for the support from parish leaders and what clearly seems to be the Spirit moving at St John's!

Chris

Why am I a Jubilee debt campaigner? - by Pat Rumer

Why am I a Jubilee debt campaigner? The movie, The Constant Gardener, offered a realistic, brutal picture of one of Africa's largest slums, Kibera. The on-the-ground reality is a slum surrounded by a lush golf course, elegant homes with a wall to keep out slum dwellers, and a nearby supermarket offering a "variety of choices."

What the movie does not show is the vitality and resilience of the children and in particular, the mothers organized in the Watoto Wa Dunia (Children of the World) project.

Debt is not about economic statistics - it is about people and their lives. Kenyans know that the debt service burden affects their health, schooling, job opportunities (or the lack thereof) and housing. Debt is slavery and at times, death. Mary, an AIDS orphan in Kibera, shared about a poem about AIDS and how it brings misery and loss. It is the people who suffer and yet struggle for their lives and those of their children. To make a better world is why I demand that the debt be cancelled.

An African man, Mr. Washiri, at the Illegitimate Debt Forum in Nairobi,challenged the audience saying, "it is morally wrong as church people not to pass the message. People must be aware. It is the reponsibility of the churches to bring the message home!" Cancel the debt requires public outrage.

Wangari Matthai, Nobel peace prize recipient from Kenya, asked, "How can you punish these poor people? Poor people are being sacrificed by their governments to pay these debts. We cannot tolerate these debts as they are literally killling our people!"

It is the women's voices that are the strongest - demanding, exhorting and importuning for justice because debt = death and slavery. Can we in the USA be morally outraged and raise our voices to demand the cancellation of the debt?

This is a story from Gloria, a Zambian business woman, and Ella, a Zambian Consultant.

They have increased the fuel costs, so now people are walking because they can not afford the bus. The food is too expensive, people are having one meal a day. Some do not even have that meal. A loaf of bread costs $0.70 which is prohibitive.

The households are being run by children, orphans, who have nothing left, the eldest at 12 years of age is looking after all the other children, so they have to stop school. Because of SIMS (HIV/AIDS).

The new “investors” come in and abuse the wage structure. You are so happy to have a job, but you do not even know how much you are going to be paid. You can not even afford transportation to work, you have to walk. The job does not have a pension, so once you are off, that is it.

Gloria says, What I want is to increase the salaries, take care of the doctors and nurses salaries, then they will remain with us. Create job opportunities, screen the investors who come in. They only have the profit in mind, they will do what ever they can to make money, at the expense of the worker who will not get anything. They are employed on a casual basis.

Ellas says, the wages must be increased and the health sector salaries must be increased. The anti-retroviral drugs must be moved to the rural areas so that the people there can access it. We need more counselors so people can understand what AIDS is.

January 26, 2007 blog

Today we traveled to Siavonga to visit a district hospital and day clinic. In a district of over 70,000 people they have this hospital and one mission hospital. The district hospital has four doctors, sixteen nurses and one midwife. We visited the wards, pharmacy, laboratory and day clinic.

The government used some of its debt relief to abolish health user fees in the rural areas like Siavonga. In addition, the medicines are free. This is a mixed bag. The abolition of fees has increased access for people; more people are going to the hospital and clinic. Unfortunately, the funding and infrastructure is not in place to have enough staff and medicine to handle the increased demand.

The poorly funded government and they years of wage freezes by the government, imposed by the IMF, means that the government wages are not sufficient to attract doctors and nurses. The brain drain is great. Zambian doctors in Namibia make four times what they would earn in a rural area in Zambia.

Meeting with Jubilee Zambia

January 25, 2007

After a very early morning flight on a very professional Kenya Airlines from Nairobi to Lusaka, Zambia we met up with Jubilee Zambia and the network of Civil Society for Poverty Eradication (CSPR.org.zm) at Jubilee Zambia’s home in The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection (JCTR). Nanchila Nancolo, the Jubilee-Zambia Coordinator, provided us with a very comprehensive description of the current debt situation.

As is typical of the IMF, the Zambian Government was required to insitute a conditionality of freezing wages and hiring freezes for many years. For example, University professors had to wait two years to be paid. When there were funds to hire teachers or doctors, the wages were so low the government could not recruit anyone. The “Brain Drain” is significant. The debt relief received so far will help, but Jubilee Zambia is concerned about continued borrowing by the government to meet budget deficits, lack of transparency, no parliamentary oversight and a lack of political will to stand up to the IMF.

Jubilee Zambia wants transparency in all loan contracts, parliamentary oversight, monitoring of the use of the debt, reform to the trade sector so it benefits the country and local ownership of economic policies.

Chris…from JCTR presented their basic needs market basket analysis of the monthly income needed for a family of six in Lusaka to afford basic food and housing. The needed monthly income to meet basic needs is $366 per family per month, or $2 per person. In fact, wages, for those few who have jobs, averages much less. For example, a government secretary earns between $150 to $250 per month. In a country of 11.9 million people, only 470,000 have jobs in the formal employment sector.

For Zambia to get its partial debt cancellation, the government had to fulfill the conditionalities imposed by the IMF. One key requirement was privitization of government owned companies. The Zambian National Commercial Bank is a good example. It is the only bank in many rural areas. Since private companies are totally profit driven, if a rural branch is not profitable, it will be closed. This will have a huge impact on the agricultural sector and micro finance schemes. Imagine not having a bank in your town and having to travel for hours to get to a bank. The Zambian people are very upset about it, but the government had to agree with the IMF conditionality or it would not get debt relief.

When a government owned company, like a copper mine, is privatized, the company who is buying it gets a tax holiday for 5 years. We were told by CSPR that many times these companies leave when the five years are up. The new corporation who buys the company gets a NEW 5 year tax holiday. And on it goes.

Copper is a significant mineral for Zambia. Prices are up, but the government only gets royalties of 3.6%. The people of Zambia get toxic spills into their rivers. A clear case of environmental debt.

Like our home state of Oregon, Zambian workers contribute more tax revenue than the corporations. But that tax burden is carried by less than 500,000 people.

The IMF is now recommending a 17.5% value added tax on food, agricultural input, newsprint, fuel, mosquito nets and other basic needs. The citizenry is very much opposed to it, but it is yet to be seen if the government will stand up to the IMF on this “recommendation”.

Next Tuesday we will meet with the IMF and ask them a few questions about the tax on basic goods and the tax exemption enjoyed by corporations.

Voices from the South – a reflection by Pat Rumer, World Social Forum

“Is unconditional debt cancellation possible?

One of the most challenging issues facing the Jubilee global movement is the call for 100% cancellation of the debt without “harmful conditions.” These harmful conditions are the Structural Adjustment Programs of the IMF that debtor nations are required to adopt in their domestic economies BEFORE they can qualify for any form of debt relief. The topic of conditionality was on the agenda of one of the Debt workshops with South and North speakers.

Alejandro Bendana, a Nicaraguan founder of Jubilee 2000 in Latin America, observed that a victory (like the 2005 debt deal at the G8) presents new problems. Jubilee campaigners say debt cancellation and the G8 and international financial institutions (IFI’s) talk about debt relief. The terms of the debate are constantly changing and Jubilee campaigners need to follow the discourse. Since 2005 the IFI’s have focused on anti-corruption measures imposing new conditions on debtor nations to ensure “transparency and accountability.” However, the transparency and accountability demands do not apply to the lenders, the World Bank, IMF and regional development banks.

Alejandro challenged Jubilee movements in the North to not buy into the anti-corruption arguments but instead to support the ethical principle that all nations have the sovereign right to determine their own political and economic futures. If the people of Nicaragua or any other debtor nation demand transparency and accountability from their government, their actions support and strengthen democracy. If the IMF and WB impose anti-corruption conditions, it reinforces a colonial “the North knows best” mentality.

As a panel member and a Jubilee USA campaigner, I said that I have encountered people who decry the corruption in African and Latin American nations and believe that it is only realistic to require anti-corruption measures. In a recent conference in Honduras on external debt and the internal debt cancellation process after 2005, Hondurans were quite open about their struggle to realize the benefits of debt cancellation. If Jubilee South rejects lender-imposed conditions, is there a role for Jubilee northern movements to work with Jubilee South to ensure that the funds (cancelled) reach the poor? There is no easy answer to my question. Both North and South campaigners affirm the need to long-term education in our societies to understand the power imbalance between North and South while working to achieve a more just and equitable economic systems.

After the workshop I reflected on the Leviticus passage as well as the Lord’s Prayer. Both parts of the Bible talk about Cancellation or Forgiveness of Debts. Debts are to be forgiven every seven years, the Sabbath year, but there is no mention that debts are only to be cancelled if the debtor proves how he will spend the money. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus prays, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” The biblical vision is for “unconditional debt cancellation.” Are we able to live out this visionn?

Wednesday, January 24th

Wednesday morning at the World Social Forum found Nancy in a session where Roberto of Social Watch challenged the perceptions of the IMF and neo liberals that governments of the South need to cut expenditures to make up budget deficits. The South recognizes that they need to increase revenues to meet the budget deficit. The invisible parts of our international financial system are the tax havens, investment returns on privatization, trade and tax evasion. The IMF is mandated with the control of capital flow, yet they do nothing about the major flaws in the system that drains capital out of the South. For every dollar spent on aid to the south, $10 flows out to the north through a secret system of tax havens. In 2005 there was $11.5 TRILLION sitting in offshore tax havens. If we just taxed that money at a modest rate it would generate $255 Billion in tax revenue. The Millennium Development Goals will cost somewhere between $45 Billion and $110 Billion to accomplish. It seems like a simple answer to creating a world that values all life, everywhere.

The afternoon found us all together in the “Big Tent” for a WSF sponsored conversation on debt. Our Kenyan hosts kicked off the meeting by singing and dancing. The Chair of the Kenyan Debt Relief Network kicked it off with a rousing speech emphasizing repudiation. “To negotiate is to die.” From an explanation of ecological debt by Evonne of Ecuador to the history of Haiti’s debt to buy independence from France, one thing is clear: The countries of the South are the creditors, and “Don’t Owe Won’t Pay” was the call by all.

Kibera - By Lynne Smouse Lopez

The visit to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, was the most powerful experience for me. It brought to life what so many of the workshops, demonstrations and speeches sought to teach us. We visited the Jet project, a community-organizing group that works especially with women and children orphaned by Aids. After walking a mile through endless slum shacks made of tin or mud, we visited the tiny mud room with a dirt floor and gaps in the walls, which was the Jet school and meeting area. We were greeted by a group of the most patient and spirit-filled children of all ages and some of the women and men of the community. This was the “Beloved Community” in action where adults have taken in orphans along with their own children. They provide to the poorest of the poor nurture, education and love sparking the flame of hope in a hopeless situation.

After the adults told us about the work of the community group (and the children waited patiently through our myriad of questions), the children blessed us with songs and dance. The most moving moment came when Mary, a 13 year old girl orphaned by Aids, dramatized and recited two poems for us- one on the devastation of Aids for her and the people of Africa, the other that might have been called, “O You Poor Orphan”. Her strong spirit and resilience shone through as she spoke and moved to the rhythm of her powerful words. Then Mary led some of the children in dance; as she called out or sang out the lines they responded with energy moving gracefully in the cramped room.

We also met Jacinta who at thirteen is also an orphan and lives with her grandmother. It was explained to me that she had passed her grade 8 tests, a remarkable accomplishment in the face of huge challenges. She would now be able to attend secondary school, but she faces another challenge. She will have to pay school fees because the project can not provide her education at the secondary level. Jacinta is one of the orphans who is supported by Watoto Wa Dunia, project connecting Americans with children orphaned by Aids. This assistance helps to sustain her, but it remains to be seen as to whether it will be enough for school.

After a prayer and words of thanks from both the Kibera people and us, we continued our long walk through the slum. Passing huge mounds of trash where children were “shopping for any usable item”. We crossed the railroad tracks that line one side of the slum and looked out over a concrete wall lined in barbed wire and broken glass. We could see a rather large golf course used by the elite and separated the homes of the rich from Kibera. Nearby a drain pipe coming from the golf course dumped clean water into a ditch that quickly became contaminated with the results of the dense population of people living in abject poverty with no sanitation and little water. As we left we passed by the last chance of hope for some enterprising men and women who built small stalls for their individual efforts in business. One that stood out as the epitome of recycling was a collection of ‘junk’- discarded cell phones, radios, razors, and other small appliances. It was clear the owner was trying to rebuild and make useable some of what people like us determine to be useless.

Kenya’s challenges are many and Kibera is one huge one. One of the obstacles that keeps holding the country back from nurturing her people is the huge odious debt that Kenya is saddled with- a debt created in great part by loans made by the British colonial government when they occupied and oppressed the Kenyan people. Our struggle for true Jubilee is not over.

Tuesday, January 23 - from Nairobi, Kenya

The World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya was an extraordinary experience gathering with more than 80,000 people from around the world. I found myself in the middle of a city of activists who “imagine a better world is possible.” It was an incredible experience hearing many languages, seeing the colors of the world as groups would sing, shout and chant in protest to demonstrate for any number of causes for human rights and environmental issues. The main walkway surrounding the huge sports stadium was lined with stalls representing all kinds of community organizations and vendors from all over Kenya, the Masaai people sharing their beautiful beadwork and others with carvings and cloth. The workshops and gatherings educated, inspired and challenged us. It was experiencing the world and being called to imagine and act to make it better.

Professor Wangari Maathai

On Monday we had the unique opportunity to hear Professor Wangari Maathai deliver an address on debt. Deliver is perhaps too weak a word. She took the stage in a beautiful fury of controlled passion and deep outrage at the West’s lack of moral response to the needs of the poor. “How could the most powerful, the most influential bank – the bank with the best minds” lend so irresponsibly and recklessly, she asked. Maathai rightly linked the debt of Southern nations to every other pressing issue: healthcare, education, the environment etc. She challenged us: How can God do his work from heaven, she questioned. He put us here on Earth. We are the ones to do his work. “We are the agents of the Lord.” We are the ones to fight the IMF and World Bank, and the oppression of the West.

“We have the numbers,” Maathai said. “We have the voice. But we don’t use that voice… raising our voices might compromise our own safety and comfort.”

I was so stunned by her presence that I kept forgetting to take notes. I do know, however, that she closed with a story about a hummingbird. There was a huge fire that broke out in a forest. All of the animals were abandoning their homes, running from the flames. But a small hummingbird saw what was happening and decided he wanted to do something. He flew fast as he could to the river, and drew a small drop of water in his beak and placed it on the fire. He continued, flying to the river, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, at a speed you can’t even explain. The other animals sat in safety and disbelief. How can this small bird even try to put out this enormous fire? The hummingbird explained, “I’m doing the best I can,” and continued down to the river.

Jambo from the World Social Forum!

Jambo! Greetings from Kenya. Our delegation converged on Nairobi last night, from Portland, Seattle, D.C., and London, etc. After a late night check-in at the 680 Hotel, we woke (groggily) to bustling streets, streaming sunshine, and a beautiful 70 degree breeze.



Our Portland group (we are five) met the rest of the team this morning over a buffet breakfast, where we made plans for the day. First stop: An Ecumenical Service at a nearby basilica. Special Guest: none other than Desmond Tutu.

Tutu, a small but mighty man, nonchalantly made his way through the growing crowds of World Social Forum participants. After a beautiful introduction in which a woman recited Isaiah’s prophetic words of “proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor” (the Jubilee Year!), Tutu took the stage.



He called for “togetherness.” He said we cannot be human if we separate ourselves from human beings or humanity. We are a family, he said. Tutu reminded us of Jesus’ roots – a family fleeing to Africa. He reminded us of Jesus’ death, and that it was an African carrying his cross, not someone from the West. He drew connections to the early church and Africa, and the many great leaders who emerged from this place. Africans overcame slavery, he said. Overcame colonialism. Overcame apartheid. And created Nelson Mandela.

He reminded us that the West created the Holocaust, communism, fascism, weapons of mass destruction. He reminded us, begged us (in fact) to be more modest. Don’t be so “hoity-toity” West, he said. He called Africans to appreciate their heritage and resources. To stand tall. He called for strong African leadership – leaders FOR the land and it’s people. And he reminded us that we, the wealthy, have a responsibility to help those in need. Among things, Tutu asked the West to CANCEL THE DEBT!

The sun was powerful. We squinted to see. We opened our ears as Tutu spoke heatedly, and strained to hear when he closed in a whisper. Terrorism will always exist when poverty exists. When inequality exists. But… God smiles when we’re together.



We, the Portland 5, have been enjoying our time together. Tomorrow will kick off the beginning of the World Social Forum. We have a full day of workshops and sessions. Debt is one of the strong issues at the forum, so there is much to choose from. We’ll report more tomorrow, once the forum begins!

Stay well!

Have a Heart for Liberia

Hi Everyone!

I'm Cara, and this is my very FIRST Jubilee Oregon blog post. Nancy Yuill, Pat Rumer, Lynne Lopez, Dustin Pattison, and I are travelling later this week to Nairobi, Kenya as part of a Jubilee delegation for the World Social Forum. We plan to do a lot of blogging about our experiences there, so thought I'd get an early start.



Last night, we had our monthly Jubilee meeting. We spent part of our time cutting paper hearts for Liberia. (Nancy Yuill is pictured.)

Why Liberia, you ask?

(I'm borrowing the text below from the National Jubilee site:)

Led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically elected female president, Liberia is working to overcome the devastation caused by two decades of dictatorship and a civil war.

Much of Liberia's debts were incurred by the undemocratic regimes of dictators Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor between 1980 and 2003.

Currently, Liberia’s debt totals around $3.5 billion. Liberia's annual budget is less than one fortieth of that amount, and interest continues to accumulate.

President George W. Bush and the international community have repeatedly pledged their support and aid to help the country rebuild, but so far they have stopped short of cancelling Liberia's unjust and un-payable debt.

Rich country creditors are currently insisting that Liberia make $1.5 billion in back payments and accumulated interest or “arrears” before it can become eligible for any debt relief or cancellation.

At the current payment rate, this would take literally over a thousand years!

For the first action of the Sabbath Year: we will be collecting Valentine hearts addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, asking him to “Have a Heart and Cancel Liberia's Debt!”

We hope to collect thousands of Valentine wishes for Secretary Paulson and deliver them to him on February 6, one week before the February 13-14 Liberia donors conference in Washington, D.C.

To ensure that the Valentine arrive in time, please be sure to mail them no later than January 31! Send your hearts to:

Saif Rahman
Institute for Policy Studies
Liberia Valentines
1112 16th St. N.W.
Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20036

We’ll personally deliver the Valentines to U.S. Treasury on February 6, to send a message prior to the February 13-14 Liberia donors conference in Washington. We will also hold a call-in day to U.S. Treasury on February 6 to reinforce our message. Stay tuned for more details about the February 6 Call-In Day.

If you have any questions, please contact Jubilee's Congregations Fellow Nate Fishman at 202.546.4470 or nathan@jubileeusa.org.

Portland Action Plans for “Jubilee Sunday and Sabbath Year 2007 “

More than 14 Portland area congregations will observe Jubilee Sunday, January 21^st, and events related to 2007 as a Sabbath Year. They include Central Lutheran, St Andrew’s Catholic, Westminster Presbyterian, Valley Presbyterian, St John Baptist Episcopal, First Unitarian, and Ainsworth UCC among others.

Jubilee Year 2000 was proclaimed across the world as a way to live out God’s call to remove extreme debt and restore balance in creation and among peoples. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the UN were also adopted widely then as a means to achieve major poverty reduction by the year 2015.

Seven years later the New Year is full of potential for progress. One way is to fulfill the call to action in Sabbath Year 2007 and continue earlier commitments to live out the Jubilee promise for our time. Half way to the MDG goal year of 2015 much remains to be done as poverty has increased, for example, in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1990 through today.

There are many ways to keep the Sabbath Year personally and publicly. Jubilee Oregon invites you and your congregation to use the extensive, free resources available at www.jubileeusa.org to inform yourself as well as create worship experience and vision to last through the year. In addition, www.jubileeorgon.org features local information and resources.

Debayani Kar, Communications & Advocacy Coordinator for JubileeUSA, describes this call well: “In light of the Jubilee message of salvation, redemption, deliverance and liberation, debt burdens that prevent countries from meeting the most basic needs of their people cease to be merely a financial concern for a few and become a spiritual concern for all of us. To advocate and educate for debt cancellation in solidarity with the people of the world’s impoverished countries is one way we can participate in God’s Jubilee.”

For further information, contact Jubilee Oregon through Chris Laing, lecm4psu@k-com.net or 503/704-7254, or Nancy Johns, nancyjohns@comcast.net or 503/331-7702.

Press release - Sabbath Year in 2007

Inspired by the Jubilee vision of liberation and fullness of life for all, people of faith and conscience around the world are calling their political leaders to observe a Sabbath Year in 2007, seven years after Jubilee 2000.

“The Sabbath Year is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made to date in canceling the debts of impoverished countries and to highlight the unfinished agenda that must be accomplished to achieve true Jubilee debt cancellation,” said Neil Watkins, National Coordinator of the Jubilee USA Network. “Working with partners across the globe, the 2007 Sabbath Year will be a critical time to work for right relationships.”

In 2007, the Jubilee USA Network will join with other people of faith and conscience to educate, organize, and mobilize to work for the jubilee vision of right relations between people and nations and an end to unjust debt and global poverty. Specific activities will include a delegation to the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya in January, observing the halfway point to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, advocacy at the June G-8 summit in Germany, site of the initial Jubilee 2000 commitments, and a national rolling fast to call for a hearing in Congress on the JUBILEE Act, which would provide debt cancellation for many more nations that need it.

In launching the Sabbath Year, Jubilee USA Network stated:

“Seven years after the beginning of the new millennium, we live in a world that is seriously out of balance. The global gap between rich and poor continues to grow. During the 2007 Sabbath Year the world will reach the half-way point to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), global commitments that would cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. Despite these commitments, we are nowhere near meeting the goals. In Sub Saharan Africa for example the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has increased steadily from 1990 until today.

“Some of the money needed to meet the MDGs can be generated from aid, but new infusions of aid cannot be effective until the drain of debt payments is stopped. Pouring more aid into impoverished countries without debt cancellation is like trying to fill a bathtub with the drain open.

“In addition to its current impacts, the origins of the debt are unjust. A large portion of debt is odious or illegitimate, accrued under oppressive regimes or on unfair terms. During the Cold War era, loans were often made more for ideological and political reasons than for reasons of assisting development or addressing human needs. As people of faith and conscience we must ask, “Why should the people of the South endlessly pay for bad loans that never benefited the people?”

“In light of the Jubilee message of salvation, redemption, deliverance and liberation, debt burdens that prevent countries from meeting the most basic needs of their people cease to be merely a financial concern for a few and become a spiritual concern for all of us. To advocate and educate for debt cancellation in solidarity with the people of the world’s impoverished countries is one way we can participate in God’s Jubilee.”